


binary star systems

by americangothic



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (koolaid guy voice) oh yeahhhhh, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), u dont gotta know a lot about stars to read this by the way i just thot it was a nice metaphor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 12:16:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14852588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/americangothic/pseuds/americangothic
Summary: Steve’s research of the 21st century leads him to the Wikipedia page for binary stars.or, bucky is alive and steve can't lose him again





	binary star systems

**Author's Note:**

> hi i would recommend reading this on a computer just bc of the formatting but yknow its nearly 1 am so whatever. also this takes place between catws and age of ultron in case ur confused

Steve’s research of the 21st century leads him to the Wikipedia page for binary stars.

_I had him on the ropes._

He studies the definition for a moment before Sam calls his name from across the room and he joins his friend. He leaves the StarkPad on the coffee table.

_The 107th. Sergeant James Barnes, shipping out for England tomorrow._

The screen shuts off automatically. Steve and Sam don't see it because they’re both studying the map on the table.

_This isn't a back alley, Steve. It's war!_

Steve eventually frowns and points to a location on the map, a country he doesn't know. Sam shrugs and pulls up another book. Steve returns to the coffee table and picks the StarkPad up.

_We're going to the future._

a **binary star** is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common barycenter. systems of two or more stars are called **multiple star systems**.

_I thought you were dead._

_I thought you were smaller._

(i thought you were dead)

Steve scrolls through the page, frowning. He doesn't understand most of the terms and phrases here, even though he’s pretty smart. Learning about the future is complex.

_You ready to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?_

_Hell, no. That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb to run away from a fight- I’m following him._

these systems, especially when more distant, often appear to the unaided eye as a single point of light, and are then revealed as multiple by other means.

_I had him on the ropes._

_I know you did._

Sam makes an offhand remark about how if Steve really wanted to find Bucky, he would stop reading about space and come help him sort through books.

once upon a time there was a man hanging onto the side of a train and his grip was strong but the railing wasn't and _snap_ and _bucky!_ and

he never stops hearing that scream.

the term **double star** is often used synonymously with **binary star** ; however, double star can also mean **optical double star**. optical doubles are so called because the two stars appear close together in the sky as seen from the earth; they are almost on the same line of sight.

Steve sets the StarkPad down a little too forcefully. Sam asks him if he's alright. He’s fine, he responds.

_Who the hell is Bucky?_

nevertheless, their "doubleness" depends only on this optical effect; the stars themselves are distant from one another and share no physical connection.

_People are gonna die, Buck. I can't let that happen. Please, don't make me do this._

Steve goes over to join Sam at the tables strewn with maps and books.

 _Y_u know me._   
_No, _ don't!_   
_B_c__. _o_'ve known me yo__ entire life. Yo_r name is _am_s B__han_n B__ne_..._   
_Shut up!_   
_I'm not gonna fight you. __u'_e my _rie_d._   
_You're m_ mission. You- are- __- mission!_  
_Then finish it. 'Cause I'm with yo_ till the end of the line._

a double star can be revealed as optical by means of differences in their parallax measurements, proper motions, or radial velocities.

When Steve went to the museum, he heard three truths and two lies.

Best friends since childhood (truth), Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard (truth) and battlefield (lie). Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life (truth) in service of his country (lie).

Steve didn't forgive himself then and he doesn't forgive himself now.

bucky is strapped down to zemo’s table and if steve had to make a guess he would say his friend is semi-conscious at best and he's repeating his name and number and rank and steve’s stomach twists uncomfortably because that's what soldiers are trained to do under torture and _steve?_ is one of the best things he's ever heard and he helps bucky up and they escape and it's going to be okay

(and then he hears peggy saying his name and he drops all pretenses of survival and the last thing he hears is her saying  _steve?_ )

Steve snaps back to the present when he realizes Sam is still talking. _He could be in Bucharest_ , he says.

most known double stars have not been studied sufficiently closely to determine whether they are optical doubles or they are doubles physically bound through gravitation into a multiple star system.

He thinks about what he said to Natasha before it happened. _So he's a ghost story_. Steve supposes, in a way, Bucky is a ghost story.

(he still can't forget the way bucky screamed as he fell off the train, though)

**Author's Note:**

> haha yeah  
> anyway my tumblr is disgusting-little-man or infinityworms


End file.
